Something Gained
by NaruIno22
Summary: Ino Yamanaka thinks shes lost everything when Sasuke gets together with Sakura. But sometimes losing everything is just the first step towards a fresh start.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

**Remembrance**

Naruto Uzumaki was laying facedown on the soft ground. If the 17 year old hadn't been so close to death he may have noticed how beautiful his surroundings were. The sky was dark, although lightened up by the thousands of twinkling stars overhead. The moon was full, shining brightly, as if it were demanding everyone's attention. The ground was soft and wet, with hundreds of waist high flowers that gave the illusion of a large colorful ocean waving in the late night breeze.

Fireflies were happily flying through the air, occasionally lighting their tail ends as they drifted around the flowers. The clearing was surrounded by a ring of amazingly enormous trees that, if the ninja had been conscience enough to notice, he would have thought to be incredible as they dwarfed any of the trees you would find around the HiddenLeafVillage.

But none of this was being absorbed by Naruto; his orange jacket was no longer that, but shredded pieces of fabric that clung to him, showing the world his torn body. His senses had quit working hours ago, leaving his mind alone to his thoughts as he clung onto life with such a will that only he possessed.

'_Is this the end?' _he asked himself. Asking that question did not scare him as much as he thought it would, but one thing did scare him.

'**_Naruto…'_** He'd completely forgotten about the Demon Fox inside of him, although calling him a Demon did not seem a right way to call the Fox after all they had been through together. He wasn't quite as evil as he used to be, showing signs of friendship, which always seemed to throw Naruto off guard. He knew he had that effect on people, he just never thought it would reach through to the Fox.

'_I'm sorry Kyuubi, but I'm afraid this is probably the end.' _he responded hazily as his mind grew tired, and before the Fox could respond Naruto closed off the link that let them communicate, something he had not done in a very long time.

_'I wish it wasn't over yet…'_ he could feel his mind slipping away. _'…I'm so sorry…'_

* * *

The HiddenLeafVillage was covered in a dark shroud; storm clouds blotted out the sky, hurling hundreds of thousands of gallons of water onto the village. The sewage drains could barely keep up with the ridiculous amount of water that was being forced onto the streets. This was the worst storm the village had seen in decades, leaving everyone in the village to the confines of their house.

_'I wonder when this rain is going to let up'_ thought Ino Yamanaka, as she looked out of her bedroom window. She wasn't really complaining, it was more like a hope that it wouldn't end anytime soon. She always enjoyed the rain; she enjoyed the feeling of solitude it gave her. It made her feel cut off from the world in a way that was incredibly, and unexplainably, comforting. She looked around her room, allowing herself to appreciate her ability to make herself feel at home.

The walls and ceiling were painted a light shade of magenta, while her floors were carpeted in a deeper and darker magenta that matched the trim around the top of the walls. Her bed, which was placed along the far side wall, was a twin sized mattress, and was covered in midnight black sheets, with matching pillows and blankets. Her bookcase was placed in the corner across from her bed, and was filled to its capacity of books. Most of these were romance, _'But hey,'_ she thought, _'I am a girl after all.'_ While the rest of them were books ranging from diet recipes to books containing exercise regimens. Then was her favorite part of the room, the armchair that she was sitting in next to the window.

The chair was the exact same color as the carpet, and was soft and warm. This was where she spent all of her time on nights like this, reading until the rain stopped, which always made her realized how tired she was before passing out. Next to the chair on the opposite side of the window was a desk which was quite bare since her school days were over, and only had a vase with one white rose, and a picture of her and the rest of Team 10. She had finally come to terms with the fact that Asuma was gone, and instead of avoiding looking at the picture she picked it up.

She smiled as memories of the missions they went on together flooded into her mind, and a tear fell down her right cheek. She didn't wipe it away, but let it dry, as she decided that it was tears of joy for having known the wonderful man she called her teacher.

As she let herself get washed away in the memories of the old days, she thought of Sasuke Uchiha. Ever since he had returned from his hatred filled life with Orochimaru and the Akatsuki, he had ridiculous aspirations to become the Hokage. The thought always made Ino laugh. Sasuke had about as much right to become Hokage as Ino did. _'You can't just leave the village, almost killing all of the rookie nine in the process , then proceed to join Orochimaru, committing countless crimes against Konoha and the rest of the world, and on top of that expect to be welcomed back as Hokage!'_

She shook herself back to reality; _'I can't let myself get upset over that lunatic'_ she reminded herself. She looked from the picture to the rose, causing her heart to beat a little faster as butterflies filled her stomach. She decided that she did not want to ever forget the memories that rose brought back, and even though she was almost positive she couldn't possibly forget, she pulled out her diary that was completely void of writing. She turned the chair towards the desk, and grabbed a pen. _'I may not be one for writing down my feelings, but I'll be damned if I forget anything that happened this past month.' _She looked down at the page and started writing.


	2. Chapter 2

**The next few chapters will go between following many different people. Ino is writing down her memories as said in the previous chapter, but these chapters are to show you what happened to everyone during the previous month.**

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

** Chapter 2**

** One Month Earlier**

The crowd that was gathered around the gates that led into The Hidden Leaf Village was surprisingly small considering the reason everyone was there, or at least in Ino's opinion it was too small.

_'He's been gone for years, and this is all that's here to welcome him back?' _She looked at the small group of people. Tsunade was quietly speaking with Shizune towards the outskirts of the group, no doubt about taking precautions if anything went wrong. Iruka and Hinata were chatting with Sakura animatedly; Sakura was here for obvious reasons, but Iruka and Hinata were most likely here because Naruto was also returning after being gone for weeks on end. Shikamaru was leaning against a nearby wall, gazing up at the clouds, as Chouji ate his favorite kind of barbecue chips.

"They're here!" Sakura screamed, pointing into the distance. Ino had to squint to see a silhouette in the distance that looked a little too big to be one person. It was also moving incredibly fast, as she realized it was somebody sprinting while carrying someone. Her heart starting bouncing in her chest, probably at the thought of finally having a chance to declare her love for the man of her dreams.

Ino couldn't stop herself from hoping that Naruto was the one being carried, because she didn't even want to imagine her love being hurt. But her hope was denied as the silhouette got closer and she could see the familiar blonde haired, blue eyed savior of the village. He may have saved the village, and even the ninja world many times over, but to Ino he was still the prank loving loser from The Academy;

Then Ino's eyes looked to the man Naruto was carrying; she couldn't believe her eyes. The dark-haired ninja looked almost unrecognizable, his face had a gash under his eyes that looked remarkably similar to the scar that was a trademark of Iruka. His left arm was twisted and mangled, and it was very clear that both of his legs were broken.

_'What happened?!'_ Ino's mind shook with anger as her eyes welled up with tears. Her outrage caused her to look past the fact that Naruto himself was pretty beat up. As the two grew nearer Ino's fist balled up with the intent to kill.

Naruto finally made it to the gate carrying the bloodied ninja who had used to be their comrade. Tsunade and Shizune started walking towards their savior, while everyone else just stared.

They were all surprised to see that the man Naruto was carrying was conscience, and looking out at all of them. He lifted a hand and simply waved "Hey, long time no see?" hoping to break the tense atmosphere. It didn't work.

He took a deep breath, and started talking. "I brought harm to this village, and to the people in it. I have nothing to say to make what I did seem right, I just hope you have it in your will to forgive me." The man coughed up some blood.

Naruto jumped a little "Tsunade! He needs to be heale-…" before he could finish the sentence the ninja he was holding waved him off. "I will be the best ninja this village has ever seen. I will bring peace, and I will crush any outside force that tries to bring down this village." The group could tell he was nearing the end of his little speech as he was losing blood very fast, and they wondered how he was still conscience. The next thing he said came out as a whisper as the blood loss was taking its full effect. "I will become Hokage" and his eyes closed.

The atmosphere of the small group went from tense, to complete and utter shock. Naruto's face formed a hard line, and it was clear he was hiding any emotions he felt right now. He set the unconscious man on the ground and slowly backed away, before a loud popping noise erupted and a cloud of smoke appeared, disappearing to show that Naruto was gone.

None of this seemed to matter to Ino Yamanaka as she stared at the object of her love. She almost couldn't believe her eyes. She slowly walked forward with her hand outstretched towards him. Her heart racing, as Tsunade and Shizune sprinted towards him to give him first aid. Everything around her was a blur, she took no notice of her team, or Iruka and Hinata's worried expressions as they wondered where Naruto had gone. She didn't even notice Sakura crying as she screamed "Breathe god dammit! Breathe!" The only thing she noticed was the man crumpled in front of her. Sasuke Uchiha had returned.

* * *

Naruto's mind was blank as he stared at the ceiling above his bed. He knew he shouldn't be mad about what Sasuke had said, but it didn't matter, he was furious. He felt betrayed beyond what he had felt when Sasuke left the village, and even more betrayed than when Sasuke attempted to kill Sakura. On top of the anger he felt, he had also come to the realization that bringing his teammate back meant he lost any chance with Sakura, not that he had much of a chance to begin with.

_'I just want to be happy…'_ he thought to himself, as his body gave in to exhaustion. Within minutes he was asleep.

* * *

Five days had passed since Naruto returned to the village with Sasuke, and he had locked himself inside his apartment, even sending Iruka away. The feeling of loneliness was finally getting to him, and he decided that he was sick of his apartment. He changed his clothes and locked the door as he shut it behind him.

Naruto stepped down the last step that led up to his apartment and looked down the street, not knowing where to go from there. Unfortunately for him he didn't have the time to think too hard until his thoughts were interrupted.

"We were just coming to see you!" a voice that Naruto instantly recognized sounded from his left. "What are you doing tonight?" the voice asked as he turned his head to see Sakura pushing Sasuke who is in a wheelchair. Sakura was beaming, while Sasuke had his usual unattached look that Naruto had grown to miss.

Then Naruto noticed that Sasuke's right arm was reaching over his left shoulder, holding Sakura's left hand. Naruto's vision went red as he barely kept his actions under control. "Oh, hi guys. How are you?" He asked as he plastered a fake smile onto his face and forced his body to stop being so stiff.

"We were just wondering where you were these past few days, idiot. You finally bring Sasuke back and then you decide to disappear!" Sakura exclaimed as she pointed a finger at Naruto. Sasuke smirked, noticing the wonderful reaction this was getting from Naruto. His vision started getting blurry as he couldn't take it anymore.

"I uh… I gotta go" Naruto murmured right before he disappeared with a puff of smoke, appearing a few blocks away. He immediately started sprinting towards the first place he could think of.

* * *

**_'Naruto, I know you're going through a great deal of pain. But you have to get up; you can't lay here on the ground until you die!' _** the Fox's voice rumbled throughout Naruto's mind as he tried to get his container's attention. But to Kyuubi, Naruto had actually become a friend; this was something that he had never had before, something he had never thought he wanted.

_'__How could you possibly know what I'm going through?'_ Naruto internally asked the Fox. _'__What makes you think for even a second that you understand what this is like for me?!'_ he was screaming at the Fox in his head now.

**_'_****_You're right, I couldn't understand. All I've done since I've existed is hurt, kill, and destroy. That is why I am locked inside of you.' _**Kyuubi had Naruto's attention, at least for a second. **_'_****_But you have changed me Naruto. As I once dreamed of getting out of this seal and killing you and the entire Hidden Leaf Village, I am now thankful for what the Fourth Hokage did when he sealed me inside of you. You turned me from a demon, into your friend. And for that I will be here for you until you die, ask me for anything and I will do my best. Until then I will leave you to your thoughts.'_**

The Fox was proud of his first proclamation of friendship towards Naruto, and he could feel the confusion and awe in the teen's thoughts as he comprehended what he just heard. But as Kyuubi broke the connection between their minds, he could feel Naruto sink back into his dark thoughts. He could feel his body start shaking as the flow of tears became renewed, and the teen hugged his knees to his chest in hopes of filling the hole that was now there.

* * *

Ino would normally be excited to be so close to the clearing; hell, she'd be excited to get out of the shop after a morning shift, but that wasn't the case today. The only reason for her coming here was to avoid contact with any people that would ask her if she was okay and pester her with questions. She just wanted to be left alone.

She had finally arrived at her home away from home, the place she where she would normally take in Mother Nature. She would breathe in the smells of all the different kinds of flowers that grew here, and listen to the birds play their beautiful songs as squirrels ran through the trees surrounding the small clearing.

Of course, that wasn't the case today. It was like she couldn't even see the beautiful scenery surrounding her as she walked towards the break in the trees, until she noticed something out of place.

Naruto Uzumaki was laying on his side, hugging his knees to his chest in the center of the clearing.

_ '__I didn't know anybody else knew about this spot,'_ she thought to herself. She decided he had probably discovered the same news she had. _'__The same news?'_ she asked herself. The memory hit with the force of a train, knocking her onto the ground as she hugged her knees to her chest the same was as Naruto who was 50 yards from her.

_Flashback:_

_Ino still couldn't believe that Sasuke was back; just the thought of him being so close made her stomach fill with butterflies. She looked herself over in the mirror as she applied a light amount of mascara to finish off her look. She had applied a light amount of makeup that was just enough to hide the few faults her beautiful face had, and brought attention to the things that made her as gorgeous as she was. Looking one last time, she decided she looked acceptable enough for Sasuke._

_Looking for room 213, the room that the front desk lady had directed her to, Ino ran through her small speech she had prepared for the dark-haired Uchiha. She was just going to come out and declare her love for him, and ask him to spend the rest of his life with her. _

_Her face blushed a light pink as she imagined an entire life with Sasuke in a matter of seconds. Of course it was an easy task considering how many times she had done it over the past few years._

_The sound of a woman talking brought her back to reality. She looked towards where the sound had come from , and saw that it was coming from room 213. 'Maybe the nurse is giving him lunch,' she thought to herself as she pressed her ear to the door, not wanting to interrupt. _

_Ino heard the tail end of whatever the woman inside was saying, and she immediately knew who it was. "I guess what I'm saying is… Sasuke, I love you."_

_The blonde almost broke through the door and stabbed the pink haired slut with her hidden kunai knife, before she calmed herself down. 'How crazy would that make me look?' she asked herself with a silent chuckle. 'Besides, there's no way tha-'_

_ "__I love you too, Sakura." The deep husky voice inside of room 213 replied. _

_The shock from those words caused Ino to gasp, almost loud enough for the two people on the other side of the door to hear. 'N-No, there's no way he's serious… There's no way… H-He's joking, he's going to laugh in a few seconds and say gotcha! And then I can walk in and he'll pick me!' Her thoughts were frantic, she was losing her grip on reality as the next words were spoken._

_ "__There were so many times when I was still rogue that I wanted to turn myself in on the slight chance I might get to see you before they killed me. I was just lucky enough that Naruto brought me back and now I get to have you for real," he finished._

_The gasp that came from Sakura was audible on the entire floor as she threw herself at Sasuke causing him to groan from the pain. Which covered the same sounds of pain that Ino made; she looked down at her hands and saw them shaking. No, it wasn't just her hands, her entire body was shaking._

_ '__What is this feeling?' she asked herself. It felt like there was literally a hole in her chest where her heart was supposed to be. Her throat knotted up as she tried her best to hold back the waves of tears sliding down her face. 'He was my entire reason for living…'_

_She turned and ran down the hallway with the little amount of control she had of her body._

_End of Flashback_

Blinking her eyes a few times, Ino came back to reality. _'__How long was I out?' _She looked around noticing that it was dark outside now. _'__Damn, I've been here for hours,' _she thought as she pushed herself up off of the ground.

Looking down to inspect her clothes, she saw that her purple tank top and black sweatpants were covered in dirt, while her hair was covered with leaves. _'__Whatever,' _was her only thought about the issue.

Without warning, thoughts of Sasuke flooded into her mind again. _'No, I refuse to collapse again,'_ she thought asshe attempted to push the thoughts out of her head. It didn't work, but she was able to keep them at bay just enough to focus on controlling her body.

Looking around to point herself towards the village, she remembered that Naruto had been out here with her. She turned to look and see if was still there just as something rather heavy landed behind her.

"Looking for me?'


	3. Chapter 3

**Thanks for the support guys, and keep the reviews comin'! I'm going to try and update at least once every two days for the time being.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.**

* * *

**Chapter 3**

Naruto opened his eyes, noticing the darkness that had settled around him. As he pushed himself up his joints popped and his arms and legs ached from sleeping on the hard ground. Shoving his hands in his pockets, he headed for the village.

The sky was dark, the forest was silent; the only thing bringing light to the teen were the thousands of stars shining far above his head.

_'__Who's that?'_ Naruto slowed his walking as he got closer to the girl laying on her side. She was facing away from him, her blonde hair covered in leaves, and her body curled up on the forest floor.

_'__Ino?'_ he had made it around her and now saw her face. Seeing her in the same position he had been in made him realize how pathetic he must have looked to Kyuubi. He debated on waking her up, but he decided against it. _'__Well I can't leave her out here by herself,'_ he gathered chakra in his feet as he clung to a tree a few feet from the girl. Walking up the tree towards the nearest branch to sit on, he was thinking about the recent events. He came to the conclusion that she had seen Sasuke with Sakura, explaining why she was a mirror image of Naruto in all aspects.

Despite her being among the most beautiful women in the village, Naruto had never seen her that way. She was always bitchy to him, only caring about Sasuke and rambling on about diets and how beautiful she was. In his opinion she was just another stuck up fan girl of Sasuke that could fuck off. But that didn't mean she wasn't a ninja of Konoha, and that he didn't understand what she was going through.

He sat down as he reached the branch, his legs around either side as he leaned back against the tree. _'__I wonder what Jiraiya would think of this whole situation.'_

Thinking of his deceased Teacher brought a tear to his eye, the first shred of emotion he had felt since he'd woken on the forest floor. He didn't like it; the tears started coming out full force, drenching his face in a matter of seconds. The memory of Sasuke claiming he'd become Hokage and the memory of him with Sakura mashed together in his mind, pushing out any thoughts of his passed father figure.

* * *

Landing behind Ino as she looked for him, he noticed she didn't jump in the slightest from the sound.

"Looking for me?" he asked. He noticed the same emotionless stare as she turned around and looked at him. "Hi…" the girl mumbled. Naruto looked at her for a few moments before turning towards the village, and a few seconds later he heard her footsteps follow suit.

He didn't understand why he'd shown himself to the girl; his plan was to wait until she'd woken and then make his way to the village alone in the treetops. _'__Oh well, it's too late now'_, Naruto allowed himself to get lost in his thoughts as he walked silently next to Ino.

The company wasn't bothering him, mostly because she was leaving him to his thoughts.

He looked at his chest, feeling the ache that centered itself in his heart. _'__I guess heartache is a quite literal term,'_ he put his hand over his heart, feeling the heartbeat to make sure it was still there.

Naruto winced as another wave of emotion flooded through his mind, taking control of him. _'__I knew this was going to happen when I brought Sasuke back. I knew she'd go running straight into his arms, so why I am so crushed?'_ he asked himself as his throat knotted from the effort of holding back the fresh wave of tears forcing it's way onto his face.

_'__No, that's not true,'_ he sighed._ '__There was always a small part of me that hoped she'd pick me, a part of me that thought going through so much for her would change her mind' _he shook his head. _'__I'm a fucking idiot'._

Naruto was dragged out of his dark thoughts by the sound of Ino hyperventilating; looking over just in time to see her stop walking as she stared at him lovingly. "Ino?" he asked. _'__What the hells with that look?_.

She reached out towards Naruto in an attempt to grab him, but halfway she pulled her hand back nervously as she averted her eyes to her feet. He saw her bite her lip before she looked up, closing the distance between them.

"Ino what th-" was all he could get out before she brought her lips to his.

* * *

She didn't even jump when she had heard Naruto land behind her, and now she couldn't even force herself to look surprised as she turned around to look at him.

"Hi…" she mumbled. After a few seconds he turned around and started walking towards the village. Waiting a few moments, she decided she might as well follow him back.

Thinking silently to herself as they walked, she realized that the blonde walking next to her must have been watching over her as she slept. Normally she'd be thankful, but all she could feel was surprise. After all the years of her making fun of him, she never would have expected for him to care for her in any way besides hate.

Dwelling on this as she walked between the oak trees under the starlight, she let her guard down. Thoughts of Sasuke flooded in as she fought for control of her mind. _'__This isn't the place to lose control,'_ looking over to Naruto she knew he would either watch over her of carry her home himself if she collapsed again. She didn't want to owe the loser anything. Closing her eyes for a moment, she pushed the thoughts off to the side, focusing on making it home.

She opened her eyes and looked over to Naruto.

_'__What the…' _her breathing started becoming shallow as she lost control again. Walking next to her was the Uchiha whom she had loved ever since she could remember, but she knew that she had been walking with Naruto. _'__He's even wearing the same clothes as Uzumaki!'_ she shook her head as she fought to bring herself back to reality. Her heart was almost beating through her chest as she looked up again and still saw Sasuke next to her.

Sasuke looked over at her as she stopped walking. "Ino?" he asked, his husky voice brought butterflies to her stomach. _'__He looks so cute when he's confused' _she reached out to touch him. Halfway there she stopped, getting nervous. She looked down at her feet, not knowing what to do. _'__When will I ever get this chance again?' _biting her lip, she looked up bringing herself closer to him. _'__If I'm going to lose my mind, then I'm going to enjoy it.'_

"Ino what th-" was all she let him say before she pressed her lips to his.

* * *

_'What the fuck is going on?'_ this was far beyond confusion. Naruto's mind literally couldn't comprehend what was going on.

_'__Why the hell is Ino kissing me?' _he felt her wrap her arms around his neck, pulling her body into his. _'__I get that she's a mess, but we've literally spoken a word to each other since she woke up!'_

Ino opened her mouth, lightly biting on Naruto's lower lip.

Instead of the pleasure he felt pain. His chest was on fire, his whole body was shaking. _'__I don't want this, I want Sakura.'_ His heart skipped a beat. _'__Sakura…?' _the name echoed through his head over and over.

Naruto opened his eyes as his broken mind took over. His heart hit overdrive as he wrapped his arms around the pink haired girl's waist. _'__Sakura…'_ he thought, pinning her against a large tree that was behind her. His confusion transformed to pure lust as she unzipped his jacket.

* * *

_'Wh-where am I?' _Ino sat up looking around. What she saw disgusted her; the ground was littered with dirty clothes and empty ramen cups. The walls were a light gray color that somehow worked with the cluttered dirty floor. There was a window to the left of the bed with no blinds, letting in a flood of light. Underneath the piles of garbage she saw that the floor was covered in black carpeting, or at least that's what color it was now. _'There's no telling what color it was before this mess,' _she chuckled a little from her own little joke. She looked to the open closet door and saw it empty, as all of the clothes were already on the ground. Done with her inspection, she threw the blanket off of her nude body. _'Wait, why am I naked?' _

"Finally up?" the voice coming from the doorway startled her. Looking up she saw Naruto and grabbed the blanked to cover her chest. "What the hell are you doing here pervert?!" she exclaimed.

Naruto's look of amusement startled her, "Maybe I should ask you the same question, since you're in my bed." His smirk really pissed her off.

"What do you mean your bed?" Ino asked. "I mean what I said. Wait, don't tell me you don't remember last night?" his smirk turned into a look of concern. "We slept together…"

Ino's face dropped as memories of the previous night flooded into her mind. "That was you…?" she whispered.

"I'm guessing you imagined Sasuke?" he asked, oddly not too upset about it she thought. "Well… yeah. I don't know what came over me, but I feel better this morning."

"I feel better too," Naruto agreed. Ino then guessed that he had imagined Sakura. "Wow," she whispered. "Wow?" Naruto asked. "This whole situation is so fucked up," she answered. Naruto's face slightly darkened as he shook his head in agreement.

Memories of the previous night were making her sick. "Naruto?" she asked. "Huh?" he responded. "W-We can't do this again," Ino finished.

Before Naruto could answer she broke down, burying her face into a pillow. "I-Ino," she heard Naruto say as she felt him sit on the bed next to her. "Leave me alone," she whimpered.

She felt him get off of the bed and heard him walk across the room towards the door. "Sorry," was all she heard before he shut the door. The memories of last night were fine, until Sasuke turned into Naruto. She felt disgusting and dirty, _'I don't even know the kid!'_ she thought. It wasn't just the fact that she didn't really know him, she still loved Sasuke. He filled her every thought unless she made an effort to think of something else, which was only something that had recently started happening.

She let herself succumb to the feeling of emptiness and heartbreak. Giving up was easy in a way, she was tired of fighting to get him out of her head. She expected herself to be lost in a sea of memories surrounding Sasuke, which was why she was surprised when Naruto was in her thought as well. It was like she was drowning, and Naruto was keeping her afloat. As she laid there she started drifting off, _'Naruto…'_ was her last conscious thought.

* * *

Naruto had been sitting on his couch for about an hour before he decided he needed something to clear his mind, and he decided that the only thing that could do that was alcohol. Standing up, he walked over to his washing machine and put Ino's clothes into the dryer. _'I'm too damn nice for my own good,'_ he closed the bathroom door behind him and turned the water on to wash away the smell of sex. He took his time taking his clothes off as he waited for it to warm up.

_'This situation really is fucked up,'_ he thought,remembering what Ino had said to him. He had heard that sometimes imagining someone else in bed could spice up your sex life, but sleeping with each other for the sole purpose of imagining somebody else?

He shivered as he stuck his hand into the water that was still much too cold. Nothing could have ever prepared him for the situation he was in, and so he decided to stop thinking about it. He was already much too depressed to worry about something else.

Placing his hand under the water, he decided it was warm enough and stepped into the shower. He stood under the stream of warm water just enjoying the heat for a few minutes before soaping his hair and scrubbing his body. After he rinsed all of the soap off he stepped out of the shower, reaching for a towel he started drying himself off.

With his towel wrapped around his waist, he headed for his room. He didn't want to bother Ino, as he was avoiding the subject completely, but he needed to find a pair of clean clothes somewhere in that mess, and there was no reason to put it off. Slowly opening the door, he heard the deep rhythmic breathing that usually meant somebody was asleep. Peeking his head in to make sure, he saw that he had been right. Deciding she was in a deep enough sleep, he tip-toed into the room and saw what he was looking for on the floor at the foot of the bed. Snatching them, he turned around to leave.

"Naruto…" he flinched when he heard his name. He sighed as he turned around, "Yea-" He stopped mid-word in confusion. "She's still sleeping?" he said aloud on accident, quickly cursing himself under his breath as her eyes slowly blinked open, looking over at Naruto.

"Are you watching me sleep?" her tone was less than friendly as she stared at him. "Actually no," he responded, resisting the urge to point out that she was in his room, "I'm getting some clean clothes."

"Where are you going?" she asked sleepily. _'God dammit,'_ "I was just about to head out to the bar actually," figuring he couldn't get out without her noticing anyways. "Well as long as you weren't watching me sleep I guess that's fine," she responded sitting up, clutching the blanket to her chest. "So, would you happen to know where my clothes are?" she asked. "They're in the dryer," he explained as he turned to leave, "I'll be right back with them."

After handing over her clothes, he left the room and headed for the bathroom. Slipping on his clean clothes, he opened to door to see Ino waiting to use it.

"Do you mind if I take a shower?" she asked. "Go ahead," he stepped to the side to let her pass and walked out. Once she shut the door to the bathroom, he headed straight for the front door. He didn't care that leaving her alone in his apartment was kind of rude; all he cared about was getting to the bar.

* * *

Ino stepped out of the shower, drying herself off with a clean towel she had found in the closet. The shower had felt good, but a few minutes in the hot water ran out forcing her to quickly scrub her body before getting out.

Looking in the mirror, she was proud of what she saw in the reflection. _'Naruto sure is a lucky guy.' _She pulled her tank top over her head and opened the bathroom door, "Hey Naruto," she called out "do you mind if I come with you to the bar?" finishing her question as she turned the corner into the living room. Not seeing him, she went to his bedroom and still he wasn't there. _'That asshole,'_ she stormed out of the apartment, making sure not to lock the front door.

* * *

"Another one please?" Naruto asked the bartender as he held out the right amount of money. "Of course," the bartender responded, taking the money from Naruto as he pulled out a bottle of Ketel One Vodka and poured a shot. Looking around the bar, Naruto appreciated how nice of a place it was compared to bars in any other villages. The floors were clean, and the place didn't smell like a urinal, which was enough to make Naruto happy with the place. Downing the shot that the bartender had placed in front of him, he heard the door of the bar open and quick sharp footsteps approaching him. _'__Oh lord,' _Naruto thought as he crossed his fingers, hoping it wasn't who he thought it was.

Slowly turning his head, he sighed in relief. "What do you look so relieved for Uzumaki?" a very angry Ino asked. "Do you know how rude it is to leave someone alone in your apartment?" her voice was steadily getting louder as she lost control of her temper. "Why do you look so happy?!" she screamed into his ear. Naruto set down the shot glass, and was about to answer, when the front door opened again. _'Fuck,'_ he quickly stood up looking for an escape route. "You run you die," was the simple statement that came from the very angry Hokage who stood in front of Naruto with her arms crossed. Ino looked between them in confusion, as Tsunade grabbed Naruto by the ear and dragged him out of the bar.


	4. Chapter 4

**Sorry it took so long for this chapter guys, I got kind of busy these past few weeks. Let me know what you guys think of this chapter!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto**

* * *

**Chapter 4**

Ino watched Lady Tsunade drag Naruto towards the Hokage Tower slightly confused. _'How could the Hokage not notice something like that?'_ she could still sense the real Naruto making his way away from them. _'Even if Tsunade doesn't have sensory abilities, she should be able to tell the difference between a clone and a person.'_

Looking between the direction the Hokage went and the direction Naruto was still running, she had a decision to make. _'Go tell the Hokage, or go after Naruto?' _

* * *

"God dammit Naruto! Do you realize how irresponsible what you did last night was?!" the screaming almost ruptured the eardrums of the clone standing in Tsunade's office. He was surprised the plan worked and the real him had gotten away.

Acting ashamed, he looked down at his feet and shuffled them back and forth to feign embarrassment. Tsunade reached under her desk for her hidden bottle of sake, something she seemed to do a lot when he was around. After having a few drinks she looked up.

"What do you have to say for yourself?" her tone was much calmer than before, obviously the sake was helping her mood. "I don't know," he responded flatly. "You don't know?" her tone getting louder again. She took a deep breath before taking another drink straight from the bottle. "I almost felt bad having a team of Anbu follow you around the past few days, but now my actions feel completely justified," she looked at Naruto with such disappointment that the clone almost felt bad for the real Naruto, knowing that when he was dispelled he would remember this chat.

"And don't think I don't know you're a clone," Naruto looked up in shock. "You think you could fool the Hokage with something as simple as a Shadow Clone?" she asked, slightly offended. "The Anbu team should have caught up to the real you by now."

The clone dispelled himself immediately, hoping for the news to get back to the real him before they caught up.

* * *

"You and I both know that the Anbu don't stand a chance against Naruto," Shizune said walking into the room. "Why did you let him go?"

"I wanted him to know I knew, but I also want him to figure things out on his own. I have faith in him."

Shizune looked out the window over Konoha as she sighed, _'I hope you're right Lady Tsunade.'_

* * *

Ino had been following Naruto for about 15 minutes. She had noticed several other chakra signatures around him, and they were now just outside the village, clearly unconscious. She decided to go around them, not wanting to be around whoever it was when they came to.

'_Naruto's chakra signature just weakened considerably.'_

She increased her speed, worried about Naruto.

In front of her was a large tree, larger than any she'd seen before. The tree's trunk was probably 50 feet in diameter; the branches were nearly as wide as the other trees that surrounded it. Nestled in one of the enormous branches about 100 feet up was a tree house. It looked to be no larger than 30 feet long and 30 feet wide. The wood was the same shade as the tree, and the roof was even shingled. Focusing chakra in her feet, she started to climb her way up.

The tree house was quite bare on the inside, there was only a small desk and a bedroll placed in one corner of the small room. There was only one window, which was simply a small square hole in the wall. A trail of blood lead towards the center of the room.

* * *

Naruto sighed as he looked at the last conscious Anbu. She was rather tall for a woman, easily reaching 5 foot 10, with deep black hair that was tied into a pony tail and reached her mid-back. Her mask was a cat, it was all white except for one red stripe that started above her right eye and was a straight line down to the bottom of the mask. Naruto's throat knotted as he noticed how closely her body resembled Sakura. The only word to really describe it was petite.

They were on the outskirts of the village; the tree line was only a few hundred feet away. The terrain was flat with a few inches of grass covering the black soil of The Leaf Village. They were standing roughly thirty feet from each other, her fellow Anbu members sprawled across the ground in various places. There had been seven of them, and she was the strongest. But that didn't mean she was a challenge for Naruto, he just didn't want to hurt her too seriously.

'_I guess I'm going to have to make the first move,'_ he ran forward; his speed couldn't be seen by the untrained eye, and he wondered if she could see him. When he was close enough to land a hit on her, her hands moved in a blur, forming several hand signs. She slammed them onto the ground. **"EARTH STYLE: BULLET ROCK JUTSU" **a large piece of the ground ripped out of the earth towards Naruto. He jumped backwards into the air, **"SHADOW CLONE JUTSU."** He held his hand out for his clone, who started forming the ball of chakra in Naruto's hand. He landed where he'd started out, and leapt towards the rock. **"RASENGAN"** he pushed through the large rock like a knife through butter, landing fifteen feet from the woman. He immediately started sprinting towards her when he landed, intending to punch her in the stomach, knocking her out.

Just before he made contact he heard a kunai flying through the air towards him from behind. He could easily dodge it, but he didn't want it to hit the woman. Reaching into his pouch he twisted around and deflected the kunai before lashing out with his foot, kicking the woman away from him.

He looked to where the new attack had come from. Standing with their back to him was a person with a black cloak, the hood up. _'Whoever this is isn't just trying to bring me back, they're trying to kill me. They're good too, I would've sensed a normal ninja coming this close.'_ Looking back he saw the woman looking between him and the new attacker, the confusion was clear even through her Anbu mask. He looked forward to see if his attacker had turned around, but there was nobody there.

**Thud.**

He spun around and saw the woman collapsed on the ground, her eyes wide with fear. The attacker had placed the woman's mask onto their face, and was holding a kunai to her throat.

Naruto's eyes narrowed in anger, he closed his eyes for a moment. He began focusing on the seal on his stomach, allowing the chakra from Kyuubi to fill him up. He didn't want the attacker to kill the woman, so he didn't allow the cloak to turn his body the bright orange it usually did. This weakened him, but he didn't think it'd matter. Anybody that was a true threat to him died in the Fourth Shinobi War.

He opened his eyes and saw the kunai still pressed to her throat. Focusing the Kyuubi's chakra into his legs, he moved faster than before, so fast that only the most elite ninja could see his movements. The only person to surpass this speed had been his father. He kicked the attacker into the air, who then threw three kunai at the woman, but they were almost immediately deflected by Naruto. Allowing himself some inner satisfaction, he landed next to the woman, finally allowing the bright orange cloak to cover his body.

"Let me take care of this," in a soothing voice. "I don't need you to protect me," she retorted, struggling to stand up. Naruto sighed.

The attacker landed on their feet. "You think you're the only one with a demon inside of you?" the voice was deep and twisted, filled with malice and killing intent. "I'll show you a true demon," the attacker disappeared from sight. Naruto couldn't sense or hear anything besides the woman standing next to him.

Naruto's eyes widened with fear, "Run, now!" he reached towards the woman, but it was too late. The sound of flesh being ripped apart filled the air, blood splattered across Naruto's face as her left arm was torn from her body.

His world began spinning, _'What's going on, who would do this?'_

"Who are you?!" Naruto needed to distract whoever this was from killing the woman, or any of the other Anbu around him. "What do you want from me?!"

"What I want is no concern of yours. As for my name, you can call me Death, because that is what I bring." A deep chuckle was coming from beneath the mask. _'If this person "Death" wants me, then I'll lead them away from the Anbu for now at least. Without worrying about them, I should be able defeat them. Her wound is bleeding bad, I'll need to be fast.' _

"You think running away will save them? I'll just kill them before coming after you," Death pointed the severed arm at Naruto as another chuckle emanated from the mask. He gritted his teeth, knowing Death was right.

"Then let's make a dea-"

**Thud.**

The four kunai knives buried themselves into Naruto's body, bringing him to his knees. _'So fast…' _he fell to his knees.

* * *

**9 Years Earlier**

Hiruzen Sarutobi looked down at Naruto, disappointment clear on his face. "Now, why exactly would you paint offensive pictures on the Hokage Monument?"

Naruto looked at the Third Hokage and beamed a smile his way, "Because I'm gonna be the best Hokage there ever was! Everyone will acknowledge me!"

"Yes, I've heard that before Naruto, but that doesn't answer my question. Why did you paint all over the Hokage Monument?" Naruto's smile wavered into a look of confusion. Hiruzen could see his mind racing as he looked for an answer in his head.

"Well, how can the village respect and acknowledge me if they're still thinking about a bunch of old dead people" Naruto seemed satisfied with his answer, but it was clear Hiruzen wasn't. He stood up and walked towards the door.

"Follow me," he said.

Naruto almost had to jog to keep up with his footsteps as he walked out of the Hokage's building. "Naruto, what you said up there would have had a Leaf Village Ninja relieved of duty. Do you know why I'm not taking any disciplinary action against you?"

"Well, um… is it because you're scared of me?" he grinned as he brought his thumb to his chest.

Hiruzen let a small grin onto his face, "not quite Naruto," he said. "You see, I'm the leader of this village. I have help, but for the most part I make every decision regarding the people here. If I make the wrong decision, whether it be to attack another country, or say make cigarettes illegal, I effect everyone. The pressure is enormous, do you understand that Naruto?"

"Hm, I didn't know that." Disappointment was in his voice. "Why don't you just have other people do it?" he asked.

"The answer is simple; I need to make sure the right decisions are made, so I must be the ones to make them. I ask for help, and listen to everyone's opinion and suggestions, but in the end I make the decision best for the people here. But this isn't all a Hokage does; you know what else a Hokage does right?"

"They beat up the bad guys!" Hiruzen smirked again. _'He's so innocent considering all he's had to go through since he was born.'_

"The village is my home Naruto. I may not love everybody in this village, there are certainly people I prefer not to be around, but they are all my family." Naruto looked up with his eyes wide. "I would die right now if it meant I could save even one of my family members. Do you understand?"

"Y-yes," his voice was shaky. They were now outside of the village, a few hundred feet from the tree line. "O-old man, where are we going?" The distress was clear in his voice. _'I've never seen him so shook up.'_

"You'll see when we get there Naruto, its sort of a surprise." He stopped talking for a moment to gather his thoughts and to look at the young boy walking next to him. _'He sure does look like his father,'_ his heart was heavy with sadness. _'If only you could be here for your son Minato, Kushina… He could see how wonderful his parents were.'_

"Do you know of the Fourth Hokage?" Naruto looked up and shook his head yes. "He gave his life to protect the village from the Nine Tails, the same day my parents were killed." His face had become steel; he was trying to hide any emotions from surfacing.

"Yes, and he did so because he wanted to protect his family, the village." He looked down and saw Naruto thinking about what he was being told. "Naruto, the Hokage may be an important person in the village. But he is important because the villagers trust him. Everybody trusts him to take care of them, to protect them when needed. Every Hokage has lived by that simple code, my predecessors did it, and the Fourth did it." They walked in silence for a few moments.

"So does that mean I'm part of your family old man?" Naruto looked up. Hiruzen knelt down in front of the boy and patted him on the head. "Yes, you are." He brought him in for a hug.

Naruto began to sob uncontrollably in the Hokage's arms, drenching his cloak. "I've always been hated. The villagers hate me, my teachers hate me, and even kids my own age hate me. I don't even know what I've done wrong." Hiruzen frowned, knowing this was true.

"Now do you want to see what I dragged you all the way out here for?" Naruto looked up and nodded as he wiped the tears off his face. "What is it old man?"

"Look for yourself," he pointed to the tree house in front of them. "This was a place your father had built for you before you were born. He had planned on bringing you here the day you were born."

* * *

'_The treehouse…'_ Naruto looked up and saw Death walking away. "If you die, then you die. But I doubt you will. We'll most likely meet again; until then remember this, I am everywhere. I know where you are and what you are doing. You are only alive because I see fit to keep you that way. Now be afraid, run and hide. Cling to life like the worthless rat that you are." Death disappeared in a shunshin.

Naruto pushed himself onto his feet as he stumbled forward. He staggered at the loss of blood. _'Kyuubi should be able to stop the bleeding,'_ he thought as he started to run forward. The pain was excruciating, but he wanted to make it to the tree house before he passed out. He glanced at the woman who now only had one arm, "I'm so sorry…" he whispered.

Naruto smiled as he stumbled into the tree house and collapsed onto the floor. He stared at the ceiling; he was happy despite how dangerous his condition was. He had talked with Kyuubi on the way here, but now Kyuubi was focusing all of his energy on healing hi..

'_Mom… Dad…' _a smile formed on Naruto's lips as he laid there, completely content.

* * *

**Beep. Beep. Beep.**

The rhythmic sound of the heart monitor was like a soft lullaby that kept Naruto between reality and the world of dreams. He drifted in and out of consciousness countless times. Occasionally he would hear people talking but he could never focus enough to discern what they were saying, but even if he could he wouldn't.

* * *

Ino looked in the mirror, wiping the tears off of her face.

_Flashback_

"_Ino, I did some tests on Naruto." Ino looked at the Hokage with hope in her eyes. "And? Will he be okay?" her desperation was slipping through into her words, but she didn't care. She hadn't slept in the four days since she'd brought him to the hospital. _

"_Ino, he's almost completely healed already. The fox has done a very good job keeping that boy alive." Ino's eyes widened, a weight seemed to slip off of her chest. "But it doesn't seem to matter that much as of now." _

"_W-what do you mean?" Ino was confused. _

"_You know as well as I do the events these past two weeks." Ino flinched. "He simply does not want to wake up. Medically speaking he's perfectly healthy. But emotionally? That's an entirely different story. The fact of the matter is he may not wake up for a very long time." _

_Ino turned her back to Tsunade, balling her hands into fists. "Isn't there anything you can do?" Her voice was trembling along with her body as tears flooded her face. "Ino, I'm a medical doctor. As long as he's in this state I am of no help." She placed a hand on Ino's shoulder. "Maybe you should go home and get some rest okay?" Ino nodded, she knew Tsunade was right. She turned around and hugged the woman who at one time was her Teacher. "Thank you."_

_Flashback Over_

She'd been home for three hours, and was just getting out of the shower.

She rubbed her eyes as she walked over towards her bed. _'I'm exhausted,'_ it'd almost been five days since she'd slept. Dropping her towel, she slid under the covers completely nude. Her blanket felt good as it rubbed against her unclothed body. It didn't take long for her to fall asleep.

* * *

**Beep. Beep. Beep.**

He hadn't felt so at peace in a very long time. His mind was mostly asleep, only a very small part of his mind could function. His thoughts were simple and happy. The Kyuubi couldn't even get through to him like he was now. He was lost in his own little dream world.


End file.
